John W. Ficklin retired last month from his position as Senior Director for Records and Access Management at the National Security Council. In that capacity he was responsible for declassification of White House records, among other records management duties. He also chaired an interagency classification reform committee that met (and still meets) to consider improvements in classification practices.
Mr. Ficklin was the subject of a moving profile in the Washington Post yesterday. See “Long White House tradition nears end for a family descended from a slave” by Juliet Eilperin, February 7.
His successor at the National Security Council is John P. Fitzpatrick, the former director of the Information Security Oversight Office. On the occasion of Mr. Fitzpatrick’s appointment, the title of the NSC position has been changed to reflect an expanded portfolio of security policy issues. He is now the Senior Director for Records Access and Information Security Management.
A new director of the Information Security Oversight Office has not yet been named.
Investing in interventions behind the walls is not just a matter of improving conditions for incarcerated individuals—it is a public safety and economic imperative. By reducing recidivism through education and family contact, we can improve reentry outcomes and save billions in taxpayer dollars.
The U.S. government should establish a public-private National Exposome Project (NEP) to generate benchmark human exposure levels for the ~80,000 chemicals to which Americans are regularly exposed.
The federal government spends billions every year on wildfire suppression and recovery. Despite this, the size and intensity of fires continues to grow, increasing costs to human health, property, and the economy as a whole.
To respond and maintain U.S. global leadership, USAID should transition to heavily favor a Fixed-Price model to enhance the United States’ ability to compete globally and deliver impact at scale.